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Updated: Nov 30, 2025
Induction of Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transitions in Sarcoma Cells
Published on: April 7, 2017
Spectrum of Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transition Aberrations and Potential Clinical Implications: Insights From
Juanni Li1, Kuan Hu2, Lei Zhou3
1Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Background:
The receptor tyrosine kinase mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) is frequently altered in cancers and is a common therapeutic target for cancers with MET variants. However, abnormal MET alterations and their associations with patient outcome across different cancer types have not been studied simultaneously. In this study, we try to fill the vacancy in a comprehensive manner and capture the full MET alteration spectrum.
Methods:
A total of 10,967 tumor samples comprising 32 cancer types from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets were analyzed for MET abnormal expression, mutations, and copy number variants (CNVs).
Results:
MET abnormal expression, alteration frequency, mutation site distribution, and functional impact varied across different cancer types. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has most targetable mutations located in the juxtamembrane domain, and both high expression and amplification of MET are significantly associated with poor prognosis. Kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP) harbored the third highest alteration frequency of MET, which was dominated by mutations. While most mutations were in the Pkinase_Tyr domain, a few were targetable. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) harbors very few alterations, but increased MET expression is associated with poor outcomes. Esophageal carcinoma (ESCA), stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD), and ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma (OV) had similar characteristics: a high frequency of MET CNVs but relatively few MET mutations, and high MET expression associated with poor prognosis.
Conclusion:
This study provided significant and comprehensive information regarding MET abnormal expression, alterations (mutations and CNVs), and their clinical associations among 32 cancer types and offered insights into the full MET alteration spectrum and its implications for prognosis and treatment.
Insights
This study comprehensively analyzed MET alterations across 32 cancer types. It reveals MET’s varied impact on prognosis and treatment, highlighting specific alterations in lung, kidney, and pancreatic cancers.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- The mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) receptor tyrosine kinase is frequently altered in various cancers.
- MET alterations are a common therapeutic target, but a comprehensive analysis across cancer types is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively analyze the spectrum of MET alterations (expression, mutations, CNVs) across 32 cancer types.
- To investigate the association between MET alterations and patient outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 10,967 tumor samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets.
- Evaluation of MET abnormal expression, mutations, and copy number variants (CNVs).
Main Results:
- MET alteration patterns, frequencies, and functional impacts varied significantly across cancer types.
- Lung adenocarcinoma showed targetable MET mutations and poor prognosis linked to high expression/amplification.
- Kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma had high MET mutation frequency, while pancreatic, esophageal, stomach, and ovarian cancers showed poor prognosis linked to MET expression or CNVs.
Conclusions:
- This study provides extensive data on MET alterations and their clinical associations in 32 cancer types.
- Findings offer insights into the MET alteration spectrum, impacting prognosis and guiding therapeutic strategies.
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